Valkyrie ✨'s Reviews > Dukes of Madness

FML, this was so good!!

The complexity of the plot, with all these hidden connections between characters and how secrets kept being revealed was mind blowing. Even when this book suffered a bit from middle book syndrome, just the character development was enough to blow my mind.

I love how much Story and her Lords were involved in this story. And her friendship with Lavinia was my everything. In fact, the sorority from all women involved in this world with Lavinia was one of my favorite parts. Story saying it was about time Royal women worked together got me so excited. I need more of this in the next book.

I’m a person with a particular hard on for parallels in books. And the way this book’s character arcs paralleled the first book’s is mind blowing. The way the first book ends with Nick royally screwing things up, and Sy and Remy on the right track, and how in the second book, it’s the opposite? Pure poetry.

The three Dukes’ character development was the real reason why this book was so addictive. Take Nick, for example. I absolutely despised him by the end of the first book. But by the end of this one, he’s probably my favorite?? How insane is that? I love it when an author manages to mind fuck me like this.

The slow blossoming of a real relationship between Nick and Livvy was so well done. The pace was insane and what she did to him as revenge was chefs kiss. We need more women in fiction taking things to crazy levels to get revenge, please. Nick’s acceptance of his punishment was cathartic to say the least. And here’s the reason why I’m obsessed with these books: he realized what he was doing to Livvy was wrong, apologized and changed. He showed patience and understanding, and his willingness to protect her no matter what, was such a turn on. That scene with the pistol had my heart racing. And his awe at Livvy offering herself freely to him had me melting.

In conclusion, Nick went from thinking loving someone equaled to controlling and abusing that person, to understanding he had fucked up and giving his love without expecting anything in return. And that was my fucking everything.

Sy and his body dysmorphia with his ginormous dick was the best part of the first half of the book. The way he took care of Livvy and nursed her back to life, the intimacy that grew between them... Even his stupid relationship with the cat, ugh my heart was literally fucking swooning. The deal they made to help each other consumed me for a great part of the story. But ultimately, Sy lost a few points with me with his selfishness in bed. There’s nothing hot about a dude focusing on his own pleasure.

Admittedly, the way he “discovered” p*ssy was the greatest, and I can’t deny that there’s something stupidly sexy about a hot dude with a monster cock who has no experience and requires guidance. That scene with Remy, Sy and Livvy was the hottest in the whole book by far.

What happened at the end of the book with Sy, though. I was expecting this. And the way Lavinia stayed put and allowed him to continue was heartbreaking. She truly cared for him by then, but Sy was too blindsided by his own issues and traumas to just let it all go for her. I can’t wait to read his character development in the next book, because the glimpse at the end of this was fucking amazing. And I still have hopes for them to find a way to have satisfactory penetrative sex, pretty please.

When he asked Lavinia if she was his girlfriend… like, I want to be annoyed at how stupid Sy can be sometimes, but he’s too fucking adorable. Ugh.

On the other hand, Remy was a bit too absent in the first half of the book for me to buy his insane chemistry with Lavinia. The way she panted after him was a bit too much. I wouldn’t have minded if they had shared more scenes together. After they finally had sex, things got better tho. Until he completely lost his marvels and had another girl give him a bj. I understand he was suffering a breakdown, but he knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose to hurt her, to punish her for talking to his father (just talking!). Like, fuck you asshole :)

Something I found fascinating was how the harem aspect was explored here. Lavinia would go to one of them when another failed to satisfy her. She seemed to understand pretty early on the perks of having 3 guys at your disposal and she wasn’t shy about seeking them out, which I loved. Getting to read someone as closed off as Lavinia to slowly unravel and open up to these men was so well done, too. I loved her character growth in this book, and how genuine it felt when she had real feelings for all of them by the end of the book.

That cliffhanger was pure evil and I have no idea how I’ll cope until this fall to read the conclusion.